When two of the biggest rock and metal icons join forces for a tour, you know you’re in for one of the biggest and best experiences of your life. Rock icons and heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple and heavy metal gods Judas Priest joined forces for one of the biggest tours of the year. Deep Purple is still on tour for their farewell tour that they’re calling TheLong Goodbye Tour. Judas Priest is currently on tour in support of their eighteenth studio album Firepower which was released on March 9, 2018. The FivePoint Amphitheater in Irvine, California was the venue of choice which was perfect for this tour. Starting up the show was Judas Priest and as always, they put on one of the best performances from any metal bands. The venue was super packed by the time the metal gods came on stage.

Judas Priest came out and started the show with the first track from the new album, Firepower. With a classic heavy metal sound, Judas Priest exploded onto the stage and made their presence known as one of the best metal bands of all time. Metal God Rob Halford still sings like a god and seems to only get better with age. Guitarist Richie Faulkner has been the replacement for longtime guitarist K.K. Downing since he left the band in 2011. Longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton was forced to retire from touring in February 2018 due to a severe case of Parkinson’s Disease. In Tipton’s place is guitarist/record producer Andy Sneap. Regardless of band members, Judas Priest still sounds great. The next song performed was the classic Delivering the Goods from their 1978 album, Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather. The third song performed was another classic Sinner from their third album, Sin After Sin. With a new album out, Judas Priest of course had to play some new tunes. Those new songs were Lightning Strike, No Surrender and Rising From Ruins. With the new songs out of the way, Judas Priest focused on their classic material. The familiar sound of guitar synthesizers blared over the speakers as fans cheered knowing what was coming. The song Turbo Lover started which is one of their most popular songs. With a super catchy chorus, Halford put the mic out to the crowd so they could sing the chorus. You Got Another Thing Comin’ is without a doubt one of the most popular metal songs of all time so when Judas Priest started to play it, the whole venue cheered and sang along. Halford went to the back of the venue and seemed to disappear. The familiar sound of motorcycle engines revving filled the venue and fans once again cheered as they knew what song was next. Halford came back out riding his motorcycle as the rest of the band started playing Hell Bent ForLeather. The band minus drummer Scott Travis left the stage leaving him to do a drum solo. After he finished, he asked the audience what they wanted to hear. The crowd yelled, “Painkiller!”. He gladly obliged and started the drum solo to Painkiller as the rest of the band came out to join in and play one of their best songs with fast guitars, pulverizing drums and Halford’s godly high-pitch yells. The show seemed to come to an end as the band left the stage. After a little while, the intro of The Hellion started as the band came back out and started the first encore which was Electric Eye. As soon as the song ended, Judas Priest jumped into playing one of the greatest metal songs of all time, Breaking the Law. Most, if not all metalheads know this song and is usually one of the first Judas Priest songs that fans hear when first introduced to them. Halford would allow fans to sing the chorus of, “Breaking the Law! Breaking the Law!”. It was time for JudasPriest to finish up their performance and to end the night, they performed Living After Midnight. Once Again, Halford let the audience sing the chorus which the audience sang perfectly. Judas Priest finished their performance, bowed to the audience, and left the stage for the headlining band of the night.

When people talk about some of the most iconic and influential rock bands, Deep Purple is often one of the first bands brought up. With all the bands they have influenced, Deep Purple has earned their reputation as one of the all time great bands that everyone needs to listen to. The lights went out once again as the members of Deep Purple came out and started with one of their most popular songs, Highway Star. Deep Purple still has the energy to put on an entertaining show and still prove why they’re one of the greatest bands of all time. The second song performed was Pictures of Home followed by Bloodsucker. Deep Purple had an impressive stage setup with a back screen showing old photos of the band from throughout their career as well as an impressive light setup that beautifully illuminated the stage. Deep Purple went on to play many of their classic such as Strange Kind of Woman, Lazy and Knocking at Your BackDoor. Deep Purple took a quick break while keyboardist Don Airey performed a nice keyboard solo to wow the audience. Deep Purple would come back out to perform another one of their popular hits, Perfect Strangers. Iconic frontman Ian Gillan spoke to the audience about the history of the band and his involvement and different experiences over the years. To introduce the next song, Gillan said it was time go…Space Truckin’. People were seen dancing and singing along to this Deep Purple classic. Now at the end of the show, Deep Purple played their most famous song and one of the best-known songs of all time, Smoke on the Water. This song is one of the holy grail of rock music. It has the most familiar guitar riffs that unmistakable as soon as you hear it and is a riff that surely most guitar players learn to play. During the song, the back screen would show photos of the Montreux Casino in Switzerland that burned down in 1971 and inspired the title of the song. Deep Purple finished the song and left the stage. Fans weren’t ready to go just yet and stayed a while longer. Eventually, Gillan came out once again and thanked the audience for coming out and for all the support over the years. For the encore, Deep Purple played their popular Joe South cover of Hush. Once again, the fans danced and sang along for the show’s grans finale. Deep Purple bowed to the audience and left the stage once again. Judas Priest and Deep Purple are two legendary acts whose music will for sure stand the test of time and will continue to influence many future bands even after they’ve both retired. Rock and metal will never die.